Department for Transport

Transport: North of England

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve east-west transport connectivity in the North of England.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is committed to improving transport connectivity across the North of England, including east-west routes. Current work includes upgrades to the road network as set out in Road Investment Strategy: for the 2015/16 – 2019/20 Road Period (March 2015). Work has already started to deliver improved rail journeys between Liverpool and Manchester. The Ordsall chord will enable direct links from the Northeast to Manchester Airport. Sir Peter Hendy’s rail upgrade re-plan (Hendy review - Replanning Network Rail’s investment programme: a report from Sir Peter Hendy to the Transport Secretary (Nov 2015)) includes significant benefits for the North of England, such as the Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme, which is aligned to Rail North’s Long Term Rail Strategy (September 2015). Current proposals are to deliver faster journeys and more capacity on the existing railway line between Leeds and Manchester. This work is expected to provide up to six fast trains per hour, with a target journey time of 62 minutes between Manchester and York and 40 minutes between Leeds and Manchester. Additionally, the new TransPennine Express (TPE) and Northern franchises, which came into effect on 1 April, will deliver a range of significant benefits to their passengers, including increases to services between Manchester and Newcastle, more daily services to Hull from Manchester and Leeds, and 44 new 125 mph TPE trains fitted with free Wi-Fi and real-time passenger information screens. The Government is also working with Transport for the North on future transport plans in the North of England. As set out in the Northern Transport Strategy: Spring 2016 Report (March 2016), these plans include east-west connectivity improvements through HS3/Northern Powerhouse Rail and the strategic studies investigating the cases for a trans-Pennine road tunnel and upgrading the A66 and A69. All four documents referred to in this reply have been placed in the libraries of both Houses.

Pedicabs

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the health and safety requirements for operators of rickshaws.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In England and Wales, excluding London, rickshaws (in the form of pedal-powered vehicles for carrying passengers, often also referred to as pedicabs) are regulated as taxis. They are therefore required to meet a local licensing authority’s taxi licensing conditions and any applicable byelaws. Under the different legislation that applies to London, they fall outside the scope of taxi regulation. The police have some limited powers to address inappropriate behaviour such as obstructing footways or driving in a reckless manner. The Government has recently announced its intention to introduce legislation to enable Transport for London to regulate pedicabs in London.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Temporary Accommodation

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take any action to ensure that local authorities comply with their legal duty to provide to homeless families temporary accommodation that is safe and suitable.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Housing Act 1996 requires that local housing authorities must ensure that all temporary accommodation they secure is suitable. Not to do so is unlawful. Households in temporary accommodation have the legal right to seek a review of any decision to place them in unsuitable accommodation. If households are unsatisfied with the response then they have redress to the courts.To help frontline decision makers make those decisions right first time DCLG fund the National Homelessness Advice Service to provide free expert advice, training and support to homelessness professionals. In December 2015 Government also provided a £5 million fund to help the 25 councils facing the most significant homelessness pressures to ensure people are moved from temporary accommodation and into suitable homes as soon as possible.Households leaving temporary accommodation now spend, on average, less time in temporary accommodation than they did in 2010. The numbers of households in temporary accommodation remain well below their peak, when they hit 101,000 in 2004.

Disadvantaged

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which were the 25 most deprived local authorities according to the English Indices of Deprivation 2015, and what policies they have agreed to target resources on each of those areas to tackle that deprivation.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Department for Communities and Local Government publishes the English Indices of Deprivation which measure the relative deprivation of neighbourhoods across England. This includes the Index of Multiple Deprivation, which is most commonly used to identify deprived areas. The department also publishes summary measures of relative deprivation among local authorities.All the data for the English Indices of Deprivation 2015 (attached) can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2015.The department does not specifically target the 25 most deprived local authorities but deprivation is taken into account in the design of some of its policies. For example, the Troubled Families Programme takes account of the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2010 in estimating the numbers of families facing multiple problems in upper-tier local authorities.



English indicies of deprivation 2015 - HL296
(PDF Document, 1.47 MB)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

North Korea: Sexual Offences

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 9 May (HL7870) and further to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea’s February conference on violence against women and girls in North Korea, which found that sexual violence had been perpetrated by the government of North Korea, whether the FCO or the British Embassy in Pyongyang have received representations, or will consider representations, on projects directed at combating sexual violence inside North Korea or the effects of sexual violence in the North Korean diaspora.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not currently run projects directly aimed at preventing sexual violence in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). However we continue to support projects aimed at improving the lives of some of the most vulnerable groups in North Korean society. We will consider any applications for projects aimed at addressing sexual violence in the DPRK or its effects among the North Korean diaspora made through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy.

North Korea: Diplomatic Service

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 April (HL7189), and further to the findings of the United Nations Panel of Experts and paragraph 13 of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270, what assessment they have made of the role of personnel from the North Korean Embassy in London in nuclear proliferation activity and sanctions evasion; and whether any representations on this matter have been made to the North Korean Ambassador to the UK.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are concerned by the evidence in the Panel of Experts’ report that officials of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continue to play key roles in facilitating trade of prohibited items. We regularly raise our concerns about the DPRK’s nuclear weapons programme and nuclear proliferation with the North Korean Embassy in London. We remind all foreign diplomatic missions in the UK to operate in accordance with their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Omar al-Bashir

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in the light of Omar al-Bashir’s visit to Uganda on 12 May and the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for his arrest, what their position is when other countries host the Sudanese President; and whether it is their policy that he should be denied access and opportunities for international travel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are disappointed that President Bashir was able to travel to Uganda to attend President Museveni’s inauguration. Together with our international partners we raised our concerns with the Government of Uganda.The UK remains a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court. We continue to make clear that we expect compliance with the arrest warrants for all those indicted, including President Bashir, and remind concerned countries of their legal obligations.

Crimes against Humanity

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to follow the lead of the US Agency for International Development in creating for staff in at-risk countries a comprehensive field guide on atrocity prevention, including how to identify early warning signals of mass atrocities or genocide, and how to act upon those signals in order to alert relevant UK and UN authorities.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently developing a training package on conflict and human rights which will include components on identifying, preventing and responding to mass atrocities and genocide. Staff serving in countries considered at risk will be expected to undertake this training as part of their overseas posting. This package will be accompanied by a set of wider training materials on these issues made available to staff.

Court of Justice of the European Union

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 11 May (HL7961), what is the basis from which the "renegotiation deal" did not extend the ability of the Court of Justice of the European Union to rule on compliance with fundamental rights.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The central element of the UK deal is an International Law Decision. It includes a provision which reaffirms that the Charter of Fundamental Rights does not extend the ability of the Court of Justice of the European Union or domestic courts to rule on compliance with fundamental rights. As the Government has made clear, the International Law Decision is legally binding.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Languages: Education

Baroness Jolly: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they have taken to promote modern foreign language learning amongst people of all ages.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Department for Education has made study of a modern foreign or ancient language compulsory for pupils at KS2 (ages 7-11) in maintained schools in England. By introducing the English Baccalaureate, we have stopped the decline in modern foreign languages seen in the last decade. The proportion of the cohort in state funded schools entered for a modern foreign language GCSE has risen from 40 per cent in 2010 to 49 per cent in 2015.The Government’s ambition is that 90 per cent of pupils in mainstream secondary schools will enter GCSEs in the EBacc subjects, including a language. The government’s response to the consultation on implementing the English Baccalaureate will be published in due course, and will set out how this ambition will be achieved.The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has also invested £10million over 10 years, in to the Routes into Languages programme that aims to boost recruitment to language degrees in higher education. It is working with the University Council for Modern Languages (UCML) and the Routes into Language Steering Group to support a sustainable programme for the encouragement of language study at university.Additionally, under Erasmus+ and its predecessor EU education programmes, over 200,000 British students have been able to study abroad, improving their skills and employability.

Department for International Development

Sri Lanka: Floods

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will provide emergency funding from the international aid budget to help Sri Lankan citizens affected by the recent floods and landslides.

Baroness Verma: The UK provides substantial funding to international NGOs and UN agencies, enabling them to respond to disasters around the world, including Sri Lanka. This includes the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which was established by the UN and other leading donors to enable rapid emergency response. The CERF is doing an assessment of the situation following the rainfall and landslips in Sri Lanka. The UK, along with other leading donors, will provide support as required through this coordinated response mechanism.The UK is the biggest contributor to the CERF, having provided in excess of $855m in the last 10 years. The UK also provides funding to the European Union humanitarian agency (ECHO) which is also undertaking an assessment.

Ministry of Defence

United Nations

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the tasks and role of UK military personnel committed to service at the headquarters of the UN.

Earl Howe: The UK currently has four military personnel at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York:The Deputy Military Advisor to the UN Secretary General and Deputy Head of the Office of Military Affairs (OMA).A Special Assistant/Military Assistant to the Military Advisor to the UN Secretary General and Head of the OMA.A Military Planner within the Military Planning Service of the OMA.A Gender Advisor seconded to the OMA.These officers support the UN by: providing strategic and operational military advice on the efficiency and the effectiveness of military components in UN Peacekeeping missions; conducting research and contributing to the development of policy; maintaining close links to national Permanent Missions to the UN; and liaising with non-governmental organisations. The Gender Advisor also ensures implementation of Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), providing advice on recruitment and force generation, and support to military gender advisors at Field Headquarters. WPS and the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative are HMG priorities, and the Gender Advisor is uniquely placed to influence the UN's work on these issues.

United Nations

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the factors on which career advancement is assessed for those military personnel serving with the UN, both in the field and at the UN Headquarters.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my noble Friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (the Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE) on 20 April 2016 to Question number HL7438. http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2016-04-11/HL7438/ Further to the information given in the answer by my noble Friend, postings to UN Headquarters are part of UK defence engagement. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) routinely seeks to reinvest the experience gained in such appointments in other challenging defence engagement roles, such as Defence Attachés. The investment by the MOD in such roles is demonstrated in the creation of the new Defence Attaché and Loan Service Centre, which is part of the Defence Academy. This ensures individuals are specifically and extensively trained for such appointments. The MOD has also created a Defence Engagement Career Field specifically for those appointments that enable and/or deliver engagement between UK Defence and other organisations and audiences. The intent is to develop military practitioners and experts in defence engagement to enhance the UK's influence through soft power. .



QnA extract on United Nations
(Word Document, 14.66 KB)

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Nuisance Calls

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of removing in April 2015 the need for the Information Commissioner's Office to prove that "substantial" damage had been caused by nuisance calls or spam text messages on the number of (1) investigations that have taken place, and (2) fines that have been imposed.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government has not assessed the impact of the 6 April 2015 change in threshold, relating to the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations (PECR). The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) intends to conduct an assessment on the long term impact of the change to PECR in 2016-17, taking into account the result of any appeal judgements. Since the change in threshold to PECR, there has been a significant increase in enforcement action and the level of fines issued to organisations that breach the rules. The ICO recently imposed its largest fine of £350,000, on Prodial Ltd for making over 46 million automated nuisance calls and more fines against rogue companies are in the pipeline. The ICO has also published a list of all fines and investigations for breaches of the rules before and after the change to PECR in April 2015, this is available at:https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/enforcement/

Digital Technology: North of England

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations in the recent report The Digital Powerhouse: The innovation potential of tech clusters in the North.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We are considering these recommendations and will respond in due course.

Digital Technology: North of England

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider publishing central government data on procurement history and key performance indicators to help tech communities understand the opportunities available to them, as recommended in the recent report The Digital Powerhouse: The innovation potential of tech clusters in the North.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: On 12 May, the Cabinet Office committed to implement the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) in the Crown Commercial Service’s operations by October 2016. This is part of the UK’s Open Government National Action Plan 2016-18. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has also begun a consultation on a number of proposals to update the Local Government Transparency Code 2015.

Digital Technology: North of England

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend specifically to look at providing funding to make the North a testbed for experimental technology, as recommended in the recent report The Digital Powerhouse: The innovation potential of tech clusters in the North.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Government funding is already being used to develop and trial innovative new technology in the North. £170 million has been invested in the Hartree Centre to broaden and deepen the use of High Performance Computing in industry and academia - and has since attracted inward investment of over £200m from IBM and other high-tech industry. Government has also confirmed £45 million of research funding for six new Next Generation Digital Economy Centres – including one led by Newcastle University - to drive the development of new digital technologies. The centres have secured over £22 million additional funding and support in kind that will boost the impact of these centres. In addition, £9 million has been invested in the CityVerve Internet of Things Smart City demonstrator in Manchester to trial "Internet of Things" applications on a large scale.

Digital Technology: North of England

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work to establish a Digital Powerhouse Contract Portal, as recommended in the recent report The Digital Powerhouse: The innovation potential of tech clusters in the North, and to add central government contracts to that portal once established.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There are no current plans to do this.The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) have published the attached detailed guidance on the new transparency requirements for publishing on Contracts Finder. 



Guidance on Contacts Finder
(PDF Document, 409.62 KB)

Home Office

Firearms

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many licensed firearms there are in the UK broken down by police force area.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The table provided contains statistics on the number of licensed firearms and shotguns, by police force area, in England and Wales as at 31 March 2015.At this time there was a total of 1.34 million licensed shotguns and 0.53 million licensed firearms.The Home Office does not centrally hold any estimates for unlicensed firearms.Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved administrations.



Table - HL160
(Word Document, 19.47 KB)

Asylum: Families

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the British Red Cross campaign Torn Apart; and in particular whether they now plan to widen family reunion rules to include children over 18 years of age who previously lived with their parents.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There are no plans to extend the family reunion criteria. The current policy meets our international obligations and strikes the right balance. Where family members cannot meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules, such as in the case of an 18 year old applying to join their refugee parents in the UK, we consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting entry clearance outside the Rules.

Asylum: Greece

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of action being taken in Greece to (1) increase capacity for processing asylum applications, (2) speed up family reunion cases from Greece to all EU member states, and (3) improve reception and living conditions for refugees and migrants.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We welcome the action that is being taken in Greece to: increase capacity for processing asylum applications; speed up family reunion cases from Greece to all EU member states; and improve reception and living conditions for refugees and migrants.The UK continues to support Greece and other Member States. As notified in my statement of 21 April, HCWS687, 75 UK expert personnel will be deployed to Greece to support implementation of the EU-Turkey Migration Agreement and will conduct a number of duties. A proportion of the UK expert personnel will work closely with European Asylum Support Officer (EASO) coordinators and the Greek Asylum Service to process cases through the admissibility process and provide expert support to the Greek authorities and other EU partners on overall co-ordination of the response. Supporting the operation of the Greek asylum service is a fundamental part of this Government’s approach to identifying individuals in need of protection at the earliest possible opportunity and ensuring they are identified as eligible for family reunification consideration under the terms of Dublin Regulation.This deployment is in addition to the support that we are already providing to the Greek asylum service. Two UK experts have already been deployed to the Greek Dublin Unit and have provided valuable assistance. A third was due to be deployed, however, EASO has informed us that support to the Greek Dublin Unit is currently at full complement. We stand ready to deploy further experts as soon as they are required. We are confident that through our cooperation and concerted joint efforts we can identify and facilitate the swift transfers of cases through our national systems and make effective use of the Dublin Regulation.

Immigration: South Sudan

Lord Temple-Morris: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many citizens of South Sudan have arrived in the UK in the last five years; and of those, how many (1) have applied for asylum, (2) have been given leave to remain, and (3) have been returned to South Sudan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Passenger arrival data by nationality are published annually by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release. However, it is not possible to separately identify those passengers that have applied for asylum from the total number of arrivals.An outcome analysis of annual cohorts of asylum applicants is also published annually by the Home Office. Figures on the numbers of grants, refusals, enforced removal and voluntary departure for those applying for asylum between 2010 and 2014 are provided in Table B.A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics October to December 2015, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015Table A shows the number of South Sudan nationals given leave to enter the United Kingdom, from 2011 to 2015.Table A: South Sudan nationals given leave to enter the United Kingdom YearTotal arrivals201102012150201324520145552015:Data rounded to the nearest 5: = 2015 data are due to be published on 25 August 2016Source: Immigration Statistics Oct-Dec 2015, Home Office, table ad_03.Table B: Outcome analysis of asylum applications for South Sudan, as at August 2015Year of applicationTotal main applicantsGranted HP/DL/Other grants in the first instanceRefused asylum, HP or DLTotalenforced removalsTotalvoluntary departures201020200201100000201210100201310100201486100Source: Table as_06 Outcome analysis of asylum applications, as at August 2015Those applying for asylum in the UK in one period may have arrived in the UK in a preceding period.HP Humanitarian ProtectionDL Discretionary LeaveThe analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications are the recorded outcomes of the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, as at a particular time. A proportion of applications made in each of the years provided will be awaiting the outcome of an initial decision or an appeal. Applications from earlier years will inherently have had longer for the case to be processed than those from more recent years. This dataset is updated, in full, annually.There are a large variety of routes that an asylum application can take to a final asylum outcome. As a consequence, analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications in any one year requires interpretation for a small percentage of cases. This interpretation is undertaken consistently by established computer code. The proportions and underlying figures for final outcomes of the analysis of applications for the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, are therefore estimated.A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics October to December 2015, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015 



Table A - HL249
(Excel SpreadSheet, 23.12 KB)




Table B - HL249
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.67 KB)

Asylum: Families

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in response to the British Red Cross campaign Torn Apart, they will extend the scope of refugee family reunion rules to include young people over 18 years of age who are living with their parents when they were forced to flee.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There are no plans to extend the family reunion criteria. The current policy meets our international obligations and strikes the right balance. Where family members cannot meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules, such as in the case of an 18 year old applying to join their refugee parents in the UK, we consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting entry clearance outside the Rules.

Travel Requirements: Commonwealth

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations have taken place between the Home Office and other relevant government agencies with reference to the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting communiqué in which "Heads recalled the importance to the people of the Commonwealth for legitimate and temporary reasons in order to benefit from stronger economic, official and cultural cooperation"; and what action, if any, has followed.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Home Office regularly consults with other Government departments and agencies about all aspects of the UK immigration system including with regard to those visiting the UK from the Commonwealth.The UK continues to contribute to the Commonwealth Secretariat led group looking at the movement of Commonwealth citizens and how that can be improved taking due regard to the requirement in the Communiqué that the actions should “not conflict with national legislation and international obligations.”

Asylum: Eritrea

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each local authority in England and Wales, what is the total number of Eritrean residents who have been listed on successful asylum applications by individuals seeking reunification with close family members in the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There are several different routes for families to be reunited safely in the UK. Applications for family reunion can be received both in country and out of country and are processed by a number of casework units within the Home Office depending on the particular route applied through including International Operations, Settlement, Complex Casework and Asylum Operations.The way these applications are processed and the method used to store the data on the main immigration database means that not all of the data regarding sponsors is recorded on centrally collated statistical databases and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examination of thousands of case records.Within the visa tables of the Home Office's quarterly Immigration Statistics, family reunion applications from dependants of those with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK (made under Part 11 of the Immigration Rules) are included in the 'Family: other' category. Whilst this 'Family: other' category includes a small number of other applications, the vast majority relate to family reunion and hence the published figures provide a good indication of trends for family reunion cases. There were 616 entry clearance visas granted to Eritreans in the 'Family: other' category in the year ending March 2016.Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics January to March 2016 Family topic https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016/family#visas

HM Treasury

Tax Yields

Lord Inglewood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what calculation they have made of the effect of leaving the EU single market on total UK tax revenue.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Treasury has published rigorous and objective analysis on the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives in April 2016, and on the immediate economic impact of leaving the EU in May 2016. From the short-run analysis, in 2017-18 the deterioration in receipts is £17.9 billion in the ‘shock scenario’ and is larger at £31.9 billion in the ‘severe shock scenario’. The long-term economic analysis assesses the continued membership of the EU against three different alternatives. The analysis shows that after 15 years, even with savings from reduced contributions to the EU, receipts would be £20 billion a year lower in the central estimate of the European Economic Area alternative, £36 billion a year lower for the negotiated bilateral agreement alternative and £45 billion a year lower for the World Trade Organization alternative. These figures are expressed in terms of 2015 GDP in 2015 prices.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 11 May (HL Deb, col 172), that the proposed Hinkley Point C power station "will provide reliable energy at an affordable cost", what is their estimate of that unit cost.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Strike Price for Hinkley Point C is £92.50/MWh, reducing to £89.50/MWh if EDF proceed with Sizewell C

Cabinet Office

Former Prime Ministers: Allowances

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Public Duty Cost Allowances were in (1) 2013–14, (2) 2014–15, and (3) 2015–16.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The costs of the Public Duties Cost Allowance are published annually in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.The cost of the PDCA in 2013-14 was £331,348 and in 2014-15 was £331,818.  Details of costs for 2015-16 will be included in the 2015-16 Annual Report and Accounts which will be published in due course.

Department of Health

Hypophosphatasia: Drugs

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the process is for ensuring that quick decisions are made about the treatment of critically ill infants suffering from hypophosphatasia in cases where effective drug treatment is available.

Lord Prior of Brampton: National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Highly Specialised Technologies evaluations. If the drug is not recommended, and until NICE’s final guidance is issued, it would be for NHS England to decide whether to make it available to patients. NICE is currently evaluating asfotase alfa (brand name Strensiq) for the treatment of paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia under its Highly Specialised Technologies programme, which looks at drugs for very small patient populations. The Evaluation Committee’s preliminary recommendation, published in December 2015 for consultation, was not to recommended asfotase alfa, within its marketing authorisation, for long-term enzyme replacement therapy in paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia to treat the bone manifestations of the disease. NICE makes its recommendations based on the available evidence and in consultation with stakeholders, including manufacturers and patient groups. This is not NICE’s final guidance and its recommendations may change after consultation. NICE currently expects to publish its final guidance to the NHS in October 2016.

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 10 May (HL7949) and 25 May (HL152), what actions are taken against clinics where women have been hospitalised due to severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in order to prevent future incidents; how the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) advises clinics to adopt clinical protocols that should prevent OHSS; what assessment the HFEA has made of the implications of the randomized clinical trial recently published in Human Reproduction (Volume 31 Issue 6, pp. 1253-64) about the reduction of risks associated with OHSS; and in the light of their most recent answer indicating that the handling of OHSS is "primarily a matter for … professional standards" and not the HFEA, whether the HFEA follows all appropriate professional standards.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that severe or critical cases of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) are treated as incidents. A clinic must submit an incident report to the HFEA whenever it is made aware of a severe case of OHSS requiring a hospital admission, that has a severity grading of severe or critical. The HFEA would expect the clinic to review the patient’s drug stimulation regime, treatment and predisposing factors for OHSS, and to revise its practice and protocols where appropriate. This review is expected to be submitted to the HFEA within 10 working days from the date the incident was reported. The clinic’s report is reviewed by the Authority’s inspectorate and the clinical governance lead and, where appropriate, further enforcement action may be taken or relevant authorities contacted.The article referred to by the noble Lord is concerned with effectiveness of particular drug protocols, which are not within the HFEA’s powers of enforcement. The HFEA has also advised that, under good medical practice, it would expect doctors to treat patients on an individual basis and assess their risk of developing OHSS before treatment commences and also through monitoring the treatment cycle as it progresses. As stated in my Written Answer of 25 May 2016 (HL152), professional clinical standards are set by the appropriate Royal Colleges and issued to guide clinicians and health professionals directly, not the HFEA.